Bobbin spinning apparatus



March 6, 1945.

A. L.-JACKSON BOBB IN SPINNING APPARATUS Fi ld July 22, 1942 Patented Mar. 6, 1945 Arthur L. Jackson,

West Asheville, N. 0., assignor to American Enka Corporation, corporation of Delaware Enka, N. 0., a

Application July 22, 1942, Serial No. 451,909

10 Claims.

The present invention relates to the winding of rayon and more particularlyto the collection of freshly spun rayon thread according to the bobbin spinning system.

In the manufacture of viscose rayon by the bobbin spinning method, a viscose solution is first extruded through minute spinneret orifices into a coagulating bath to form a thread consisting of a plurality of filaments. The thread after being withdrawn from the coagulating bath is led to a driven collecting device such as a spinning bobbin upon which it is laid in generally helical coils by means of a traverse thread guide moving in a path substantially parallel to the axis of the bobbin.

In the bobbin spinning of freshly spun rayon it is conventional to employ rigid thread guides mounted on a traverse bar reciprocating below the bobbins, the guides being spacedfrom the bobbin to avoid possible injury to the surface of the thread package being wound. Where a guide of this type is employed, the thread-lag between the guide and the surface of the packthroughout all portions thereof. Whereas the package contacting guides disclosed in my said co-pending applications oifer distinct advantages age at the points of reversal of the guide will cause more thread to be deposited at the ends of the package than in the mid-section. Accordingly, an undesirable hump occurs at each end of the package which causes the package tobe non-uniformly permeable to after-treating liquids. bin-spun rayon, the elimination of these humps and the formation of a package of more uniform thickness has been accomplished, to some extent, by such expedients as stroke shortening in order to build a package having conical ends. ever, in such cases the conicity per se'of the package, caused the package to be non-uniformly permeable.

It has now been determined that an accurate control of the thread as it is laid up on the bobbin, and moreparticularly at the points of thread reversal, can be effected by a package contact- -ing thread guide. Such guides are described and claimed in my co-pending applications Serial Nos. 387,721 and 397,793, filed April 9, 1941, and June 12, 1941, respectively, and now Patents Nos.

- 2,304,097 and 2,338,723, respectively. These guides do substantially eliminate the bumps at the ends of the package and when used in'conjunction with the mechanism disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 448,655, filed June 26, 1942, now Patent No. 2,338,720, wherein a package in the form of a right cylinder is produced, provide a package which is substantially In some methods of manufacturing bob- How-- I uniformly ermeable to after-treating liquids 55 over the prior art, the guides per se are maintained in contact with the surface of the package during the spinning period by means of springs or counterweights or other similar mechanical equivalents. These means urging the thread guide against the package are, to a certain degree cumbersome, take upneeded space, add to the complexity of the winding mechanism and in crease the weight and thereby the inertia of the traversing parts in places where added inertia is mechanically detrimental.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a self-threading, suspended, package contacting thread guide mechanism which overcomes the foregoing dimculties and objections.

Another object or this invention is the provision of a traversemechanism from which is suspended an overhead guide whereby the spinning operation may be initiated automatically.

A still further object is the provision of a traversing thread guide which is urged against the bobbin during the spinning operation by means of the thread per se. 7

An additional object is to provide a suspended thread guide which moves out of contact with the package automatically, during the doiilng period.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent when considered in connection with the following detailed description wherein:

Figure 1 is a. front elevation of a) portion of a bobbin spinning machine showing the traversing thread guide assembly in its relation to the bobbin;

Figure 2 is an elevation in partial section taken along line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the thread guide per se as shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the, guide shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the guide shown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an elevation of a modified form of thread guide which may be used in accordance with the present invention, and

Figure 7 shows two alternate series of oppositely arranged bobbins having a thread guide pivotally suspended between each pair of said oppositely arranged bobbins.

Referring to the drawing, thread I is withdrawn from the source of supply,'not shown, for example a spinneret submerged in a coagulating bath, and is led to a spinning bobbin 2 rotating in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow. The thread is wound in generally helical coils upon the bobbin from end to end thereof according to a predetermined pattern by means of a thread guide generally indicated at .3. This guide is suspended from a traversebar 4 which overlies the bobbin and is reciprocated axially thereof by suitable means, not shown. It is to be understood, of course, that traverse bar 4 may extend the entire length of a spinning machine and a number of such thread guides 3 are provided at spaced points, one for each spinning position.

The guide 3 is removably mounted in a holder 5 which is pivotally suspended from the traverse bar 4, the holder being made 01' Bakelite or other suitable material. The guide 3 is preferably constructed of ahard acid resistant material such as porcelain or glass and consists of a shank 6 having an enlarged head I which is received in the enlarged opening of the lower split portion of the holder. The lower part of shank d is enlarged to form a button 8 provided with a laterally and downwardly projecting curviform horn 9 which follows the contour of the bobbin. Between the button and the shank there is formed a groove to which serves to confine and guide the thread i. The guide is firmly held in position by means of a nut and bolt assembly Ii which passes through the split portion of the. holder 5. The upper portion of the holder 5 isbifurcated and is mounted upon traverse bar 4 by a pivotal means such as a glass rod i2 held in place by a head or flange on one end and a rubber ring on the other. In the event that the guide is made of glassor other easily formed material, the guide holder 5 may be eliminated and the upper end of theshank bent at right angles to be received in a suitable opening in the traverse bar for pivotal movement therein.

A modified form of thread guide is shown in Figure 6 and is constructed of glass. This guide has its upper end i3 bent at right angles for reception in a suitable opening in traverse bar d for pivotal movement. A U-shaped opening i4 is provided for guiding the thread during its traversing movement and the horn i5 functions in the same manner as horn 9.

It will be seen from the above description of the figures that there is provided an overhead traverse bar which reciprocates above the bobbins of a spinning machine and depending from the bar are a number of thread guides, one for each spinning position. These guides are pivotally connected to the traverse bar for free swinging movement longitudinally thereof. When not in operation these guides hang vertically downward out of contact with the bobbin and when threaded up are pulled into contact with the thread package by the action of the thread.

In initiating the spinning operation the thread is withdrawn from the coagulating bath and led first over suitable guides and/or godets, not shown, and is conducted to the bobbin 2 and passed therearound several turns. Prior to this, the guide 3 suspended from the traverse'bar hangs vertically downward out of contact with the bobbin. The horn 9 of the guide which is curved to conform to the contour of the Pack age is of such length as to extend myond the path of the thread. Accordingly, when the reciprocating horn contacts the thread, the thread slides therealong until it rests in the groove til.

The guide is then automatically pulled into contact with the thread package by the tension on the thread and remains in that position traversing the package throughout the winding operation.

The novel thread guide heretofore described, may also be employed in connection with the so called alternate" spinning wherein a main bobbin and an alternate bobbin are provided and the winding on one may be initiated as soon as the winding period is completed on the other. Such alternate spinning is described in my copending application, Serial No. 387,721, filed April 9, 1941. However, in this connection if a suspended guide is not employed it becomes necessary for a skilled operator manually to shift the thread guide from the main bobbin to the alternate bobbin and the threading up step effected.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, there "is shown in dotted lines a horn i6 amxed to the other side of the shank 6 and functions in the same manner as horn 9. This horn comes into operation upon the initiation of the spinning operation on the alternate bobbin. The alternate bobbin I? is shown in dotted lines in Figure l.

As'will be clearly observed from a study of Figure l, the improved traversing mechanism is especially well adapted for utilization in alternate spinning. Thus upon completion of winding on bobbin 2 the thread is broken by the operator and the free end looped around alternate bobbin 9?, rotating in a clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow. Horn 16 then functions and the thread is automatically guided into position in groove i8 and drawn into contact with bobbin I! as previously described for bobbin 2. Upon threading up the alternate bobbins of the entire machine the operator may then remove the filled bobbins at his leisure. Upon completion of winding of the alternate bobbin the entire procedure is repeated and spinning may be continued indefinitely without interruption. Inasmuch as guide grooves 10 and 18 are separated by the width of shankfi at its base,'alternate .bobbin 8? is offset axially with respect to bobbin 2 a distance equal to the distance between said grooves iii and iii to avoid misalignment of the grooves with respect to the bobbin.

It is to be understood that although Figure 1 shows only a portion of a spinning unit of a bobbin spinning machine, the present invention is intended to cover any number of bobbins, or in the case of alternate spinning any number of pairs of bobbins as used on a commercial spinning machine.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for winding thread comprising a driven collecting device, a reciprocating member movable in a plane above and generally parallel to the axis of said device. and a thread guide pivotally suspended from said member and freely movable in an arc in a direction transverse to the axis of said collecting device, said thread guide normally hanging out of contact with the collecting device but adapted to contact the same during the spinning operation.

2. Apparatus for winding thread comprising a driven collecting device, a reciprocating member movable in a plane above and generally parallel to the axis of said device, a thread guide Divotally suspended from said member in the path of a thread led from a source of su'pplyto said collecting device, and means for causing said guide to be automatically threaded upon contact with said thread, said guide being movable into a driven collecting device, a reciprocating 'mem-' ber movable in a plane generally parallel to the axis of said device, a thread guide pivotally suspended from said member in the path of a thread led from a source of supply to said bobbin and freely movable in an arc longitudinally of said member, and means for causing said guide to be automatically threaded upon contact with said thread, said guide being movable into contact with, the thread package by the tension upon the thread alone.

' 4. An apparatus for winding packages of freshly spun synthetic threads and the like comprising a driven bobbin, a reciprocating traverse bar overlying the bobbin, thread guiding means pivotally attached to the bar at a point above the bobbin, said thread guiding means being freely movable with respect to said bar in a direction transverse to the axis of said bobbin and said thread guiding means being movable into contact with the thread package by the tension upon the thread alone.

5. An apparatus for winding freshly'spun synthetic threads and the like comprising a driven bobbin, a reciprocating traverse bar overlying the bobbin, a thread guide including a shank portion and a horn and a guiding groove therebetween, said guide being pivotally attached to the bar at a point above the bobbin and freely movable with respect to said bar in a direction transverse to the axis of the bobbin, and normally hanging out of contact with the bobbin, said horn contacting the thread upon initiation of the spinning period to automatically guide it into operative relation with said groove.

6. Apparatus for winding thread comprising at least two driven oppositely arranged collecting devices, a reciprocating member movable in a plane above and generally parallel to the axes of said devices, and a thread guide pivotally suspended from said member at a point midway between said devices and freely movable .in an arc in a direction transverse to the axes of said devices for directing the transverse movement of the thread with respect to either of two of vsaid oppositely arranged collecting devices.

'7. In a bobbin spinning machine comprising two alternate series of oppositely arranged bobbins and a traverse'bar oscillatable in a plane above and generally parallel to the axes of said bobbins, a thread guide pivotally suspended from least two driven oppositely arranged collecting devices, a reciprocating member movable in a plane aboveand general parallel to the axes of the said devices, a thread guide pivotally suspended from said member at a point midway between said devices and freely movable in an arc in a direction transverse to the axes of said devices to direct laying up of the thread with respect to either of two said oppositely arranged collecting devices, and means for causing said guide to be automatically threaded. upon contact with said thread.

9. Apparatus for winding thread comprising at least two driven oppositely arranged collecting devices, a reciprocating member movable in a plane above and-generally parallel to the axes of the said devices, a thread guide pivotally suspended from said member at a point midway between said devices and freely movable in an arc in a direction transverse to the axes of said devices to direct laying up of the thread with respect to either of two of said oppositely arranged collecting devices, and means for causing said guide to be automatically threaded upon contact with said thread, said guide being movable into contact with either of said thread packages by the tension upon the thread alone.

10. In a bobbin spinning machine comprising two alternate series of oppositely arranged bobbins and a traverse bar oscillatable in a plane above and generally parallel to the axes of said bobbins, a thread guide pivotally suspended from said traverse bar between each pair 01 oppositely arranged bobbins, means for causing each said guide to be automatically threaded upon contact with the thread to be wound, each guide being movable in an arc in a direction transverse to the axes of said bobbins to place the thread guides in aposition to direct the transverse movement of the thread with respect to one series of bobbins, whereby one series of bobbins may be wound during the dofling of the other the spinning operation.

ARTHUR L. JACKSON.

without stopping 

